Chapter 10: Meeting The Sparkles

(Thoughts)
"Attack Names"

I keep my calculating gaze locked on Spikes form as he continues dodging attacks with ease. Spotting a flaw in his "Soru" technique I quickly shout out, "It's 10 steps, not 9! Speed yourself up or you'll die!" I turn my gaze from him to the Hydra he's currently fighting. I think we're making some progress, seeing as how he's mastered "Geppo" and "Kami-E" but he is making quite a bit of progress with "Rankyaku" and "Soru". We haven't started learning "Tekkai" and "Shigan" yet but if he manages to survive fighting this thing for more than a few minutes then we'll start his training in the other two forms. "Try actually attacking the damn thing! I could have killed this thing without trying by now!"

He dodges another head and turns to me before flipping me off. "Kiss my ass!" I'm so fucking proud of this kid right now. "Soru!" He screams as he charges up the extended neck of the Hydra. Finally reaching the base of the necks he begins spinning on the ball of his right foot and lifting his left foot to his knee then extending his tail. Leaning in closer, I lay both of my elbows on my knees and watch closely. "Rankyaku: Pirouette! A small, thin, barely noticeable "Rankyaku" forms at the tip of his tail and creates an extending circle around him.

It flies outward and manages to cut through the thick hide of the Hydra's neck. As it makes it's way into the flesh, it fades away and stops a few inches into the skin. I was grinning ferally, proud of my student but now I just feel depressed. He had a good idea it's just that he didn't have the power to follow through with it. I pull out my phone and look at the time, 4:33. I should probably leave soon, otherwise, I'll be late for dinner with Twilight and her Parents. I look up at Spike and see him jump high into the air only to be smacked toward me by one of the Hydra's heads.

Skidding up to me, he looks up to me as he breathes heavily. "Want some help?" I ask. He nods and shakily stands up. "Watch closely, okay? I'll be showing you what you've been doing wrong when you use "Rankyaku"." Spreading my legs apart I lightly pat my right leg. "You've been relaxing your legs when you use it. You need to keep tension in your muscles when you throw your leg forward." I turn to one of the Hydras heads and see that it's charging toward us. "Here, I'll show you the difference between a loose one and a tense one." We both use "Soru" to avoid the head and we start using "Geppo" to keep ourselves in the air.

"Rankyaku" I loosely throw my left leg forward and watch as the wobbly and unstable air-blade barely reaches and dissipates against the neck of the Hydra. "See? That's what you're doing wrong. Now, watch what a tense one can do." We both fall to the ground and stand aside as the Hydra begins charging us once more. "Rankyaku I quickly lift my leg and watch as the blade of air cuts through the Hydra with ease, splitting it in half. Both pieces of the Hydra fall apart and land on the ground in front of us. "We'll try it again tomorrow. Right now, we have to get going. Otherwise, Twilight will kick our asses for being late."

I turn and begin walking away, after a few feet I notice that Spike isn't following behind me. I turn and look at him as he looks down at his feet. I march up to him and place my hand on his shoulder. "You alright?" I ask. He slowly turns his gaze from his feet to my face and then back to his feet.

"I'm just a little tired. I've been wracking my brain trying to find a way to get Rarity to like me and none of them are working." Ah, girl troubles. I've only had one other girlfriend beside Twilight and she was a heartless shrew that used me for my money. I really don't have any advice for him but I can probably pull something from my ass that sounds good enough.

"Spike, love doesn't happen immediately. Love takes time and love takes work. At the very least you have to know the other person. What's Rarity's favorite color?" I ask. He looks at me and shrugs. "What's her favorite food?" Once more he shrugs. "You say you love her but you don't know the first thing about her. I've been spending time with Twilight for the past 8 months since we've started dating and I've learned a lot about her. Her favorite color is Fuschia, Her favorite food is a Vegetarian Tofu salad with light french dressing, her favorite activity for the two of us is cuddling while reading a book together. Take some time to learn more about her, she'd probably appreciate it." Thank you, Garnet.

He looks up and me and starts thinking about what I said. He begins nodding and finally says, "Yeah! That's what I'll do! Thanks for the advice, Arthur!" I nod and wrap my arm around his shoulder.

"Anytime. Now let's get going. I'll race you there." I use "Soru" to charge ahead of him and I begin sprinting toward the Train Station.

"Hey, you cheated!" He takes off after me and we begin using "Soru" and "Geppo" to try and out race each other.

(Timeskip)

"I can't believe you two! How could you guys make us be so late! My parents are going to kill me!" Twilight shouts at Spike and me. We're sitting on the train and are finally making our way into Canterlot. Twilight has been going on and on for the past hour as we made our way up the mountain but Spike and I have been having a separate conversation with ourselves as we sit next to each other.

Spike claps his hands together slightly then points both of them at me and asks, "So, if you had your head placed onto another body and you jerked off. Would it be gay?" Oh shit, he's asking the real questions now.

I rub my chin and lean on my armrest a bit. "Hmmm. I-" I think for a bit. "I think it'd have to be, wouldn't it?" We both start chuckling and I continue, "I guess it would have to be gay. Okay, here's a question. Let's say there's a woman that you find incredibly irresistible. One day, the two of you get your heads cut off and you have your head placed on her body. Is it technically necrophilia and/or narcissistic if you masturbated to your new body?"

He rubs his chin in thought and before he can answer we both get slapped across the head. "Will you two be serious for one moment please!?" Twilight shouts. We both weakly apologize as we rub the sides of our heads. "Good. Now to make sure you don't say anything too weird, I have come up with a script for you."

In the background, you can slightly hear me say, "I don't say weird shit, I just speak my mind." She quickly glares at me and I shut my mouth until she's finished speaking.

Twilight clears her throat and continues, "These papers have responses to every question I could think of that I know they will ask." She hands me a 10-sheet thick script that has multiple question answers. Quickly reading through it I start laughing out loud at some of these responses.

"Hehe, Spike look at this one. "Are you having sex with my daughter?" and the reply is "We always use protection." I start laughing as Twilights face becomes a crimson red. We've been dating for 8 months now and yes, we've already had sex. Hell, she was the one to initiate it too. She brought me over to her house one day and started modeling lingerie she got from Rarity and soon after, one thing led to another and after an hour and a half, we were both lying on her bed covered in sweat and cuddling. It made it very awkward when Spike walked in an saw us like that though.

"Will you take this seriously!?" She shouts. I look at her and see that she's slowly becoming a nervous wreck. I quickly stand up and switch seats so I can sit next to her.

I wrap my arms around her and lightly kiss her cheek. "Calm down, Twi. Everything will be alright, I promise. Who knows, maybe your parents will like me right off the bat. I'll start reading your script and I'll memorize some of the answers. Would you like that?" She wipes her eyes and nods a little. I lift her from her seat and place her on my lap. "Want to cuddle until we get there?" I cheekily ask, already knowing the answer. Spike rolls his eyes but smiles slightly, used to our antics. Twilight giggles a bit and then nods, for the rest of the trip the two of us just sit there and cuddle until the train stops.

"Welcome to Canterlot, Arthur. This is your first time here, correct?" Twilight asks as we exit the station. I turn to Spike as he opens his mouth to say something and I slowly shake my head, he takes the hint and shuts his mouth. "Well, we'll be here for a few days while I catch up with my parents and Celestia. We'll be staying with my parents for the time being." Wait, what!?

"What do you mean we'll be staying with your parents!? I thought we were only coming up here for dinner!?" I exclaim. She looks at me, confused.

"Didn't you read the script?" I shake my head and she sighs and lightly facepalms. "We're staying with my parents so I can catch up with the Princess and my family. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Okay, but why didn't you tell me that earlier!? I didn't bring any clothing I can wear! "Don't worry about your clothing and your toiletries, I had Discord show me where your room is and he helped me pack some things for you." Discord when I get back I'm gonna throttle your honky ass.

I sigh and take Twilight's bag from her. "Lead the way." She smiles and we all follow her to their families house. As we walk, Spike and I continue talking about weird shit and surprisingly, sometimes Twilight even chimes in. After about half an hour we finally reach a large two-story house. On the mailbox, it reads "The Sparkle Residence". I guess this is the place. Twilight walks up to the door and knocks but Spike just opens the door and walks in. I guess we're coming in now. Following his example, the two of us walk in and find ourselves in a living room.

"Coming!" We hear from the kitchen. I look down at my clothing and suddenly get self-conscious. I'm wearing a tight white t-shirt that shows my muscles off a little too much, my red and yellow star hoodie is tied around my waist, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black and white trainers. I really should have worn my dress shirt today.

After waiting for a while a woman comes from the kitchen and she quickly notices Twilight and Spike. "Twily! Spikey! Oh, it's so good to see you again!" She jogs over to the two of them and wraps them in a hug. They both look like they're choking to death, I should probably stop her but I'm enjoying this too much. She lets them out of the hug and then turns to Spike, pulling him into a one on one hug. "Oh my gosh! You've grown so much since I've seen you last!"

This goes on and on for a little while longer until I unfocus from the conversation and fall into the deep empty pit that is my mind. (~It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake! You know it can be crazy! It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake! You know you can't be lazy! Break it down bitch lemme see you back it up, bring that ass down low then bring that motherfucker up!~) "Arthur?" What? I focus back up and see Twilight, Spike, and their mom all looking at me concerned. "Are you alright? You spaced out there for a little while." Twilight asks.

Oh fuck. How do I save this? "Yeah, I'm fine. You haven't introduced me to your mother yet." Nice thinking brain! I stick my hand out to the woman and shake her hand. "I'm Arthur Mayhew, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am."

She chuckles slightly and returns the handshake. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Arthur. Twilight's told us a lot about you!"

"Only kind things I hope." I smile. Jesus Christ, I hope she actually said good things about me. I'm already an embarrassing mess, I don't need any help doing that myself.

"Oh, she's said a few things that might be a tad bit embarrassing but mostly good things. Your father will be home soon with your brother and his girlfriend. Oh, maybe you four can have a double date! Wouldn't that be grand!" Twilight's mother places her hands together and smiles.

Twilight, on the other hand, looks confused. "Wait, Shiny has a girlfriend? When did this happen?" Twilight questions.

"Shining didn't tell you? He's started dating your old babysitter Cadence! I knew those two would get together at some point."

"WHAT!?" Twilight shouts. It's like a flashbang went off in the room, everyone is holding their ears and flinching at the volume of the scream. Jesus Christ, the last time I heard Twilight scream that loudly the guard showed up and busted down the door to my bedroom.

I quickly grab Twilight's shoulders and start rubbing them. Instead of getting incredibly angry and arguing, she starts moaning under her breath. Whenever she gets worked up like this there are two ways to stop her from going berserk, Giving her a massage and cuddling. Seeing as how we're both standing and the sofa is across the room, this is the best choice. "Sorry about that. When will they be back?" I ask.

"They should be here in an hour or so. Why don't you make yourselves comfortable, I'll be starting dinner here in a few moments," Twilight's mom is about to enter the kitchen when I ask her if she needs any help. "Well, I don't see why not!" I smile and follow her into the kitchen, ready to work some of my Sous Chef magic.

(Timeskip)

"Spike is the Bearnaise sauce ready yet?" I ask. He nods and brings it over to me. I take a ladle and slowly coat the sirloin beef steak with the sauce. Finally, after about 2 hours the meal is done. I look over at Twilight and her mother as they sit down and chat. Okay, I may have gone a little overboard with dinner... And by overboard I mean, I went and bought fresh ingredients and completely took over. I've always loved cooking even before I came to Equestria but now that I live with a roommate who is a literal god, I've been having to bump up my cooking skills.

Hell, nowadays I should be able to easily work as a Head Chef at a restaurant rather than a Sous Chef. "When do you think Shining and Dad will be back?" Spike asks. I've been working him to the bone by making him help me cook dinner while Twilight and her Mother caught up. Adding the garnish to the potatoes and the sauteed carrots, I set the table with the meals and make my way to the sink.

Twilight's mother is about to answer when I hear the front door open. "Honey, I'm home!" I hear from the living room. Twilight, her mother, and Spike all head into the living room while I finish washing the pots and pans that I used to make dinner. I wonder if he'll like me? "And who's this fine fella?" I hear from behind me. I turn around and see a man around my size with dark blue hair and a suit. In the doorway. "You must be Arthur, I'm Night Light."

He walks over and sticks his hand out to me. I shake his hand and hear something pop. He quickly pulls back his hand and shakes it numbly. Chuckling, he says, "Got quite a grip on you there. It's a pleasure to meet you." He walks over to the table and sits down. "I hear that you're the one who made dinner tonight! You didn't have to do that but I'm glad you helped Velvet out."

I walk over to the coffee maker and I grab two cups and pour some coffee into them. I walk over to Night Light and place the cup in front of him. "You take sugar?" I ask, he shakes his head and I sit down next to him.

He leans forward and sniffs the meal in front of him. "That smells pretty good! What did you make?" I pop my knuckles and lean back in the chair proudly. It's been a while since I've made this recipe but I made it a lot at the Bistro where I used to work. It was a high-class establishment and I had worked there since I was about 17, giving me about 8 years of experience before I was sent here.

Clearing my throat, I gesture to the food and start naming off the food with practiced ease. "A Rare Sirloin Steak with Bearnaise Sauce, A Baked Potato with Sourcream and Shallots, and Sauteed Carrots with Brown Sugar. I used to make it a lot when I worked at a restaurant about a year ago. I figured I could make it and impress you guys with my kitchen skills," I smile and look at the doorway as Twilight, Spike, Velvet, Shining and one other woman all make there way inside. "Bon Appétit."

I wait for everyone else to sit down before I start eating. Everyone else soon starts digging in and I hear some sounds of surprise. "Good, right?" I ask. I see Shining, Night, and the other woman nod while Twilight, Velvet, and Spike just ignore me and keep eating. Soon after, everyone is sitting around while they sit in the aftermath of the meal. I stand up and grab everyone's plates before washing them in the sink. "Anyone want dessert?" I ask.

Twilight's face lights up as she exclaims, "You made dessert!?" Everyone's ears seem to point in our direction.

I start laughing and I shake my head. "Nope, I bought some ice cream while I was out. I didn't have enough time to make dessert anyway. I've always been terrible at making dessert, it was never my station when I worked at The Bistro."

She looks at me somewhat disappointed before shaking her head. "I'm alright, thank you though. That meal was delicious." Everyone else nods and I smile.

"I'm Arthur, by the way." I stick my hand out to Shining Armor and he looks at me confused before he recognizes me.

I try to interrupt him but he blurts it out anyway, "I remember you, you were in the Castle Jail with Spike a few months ago!" He shakes my hand as if nothing ever happened.

Taking a deep breath, I turn to Spike as he quickly stands up. "We should probably run." He nods and we both book it toward the front door before we're lifted into the air by a light lilac glow. "EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" I shout. I place my feet against Spike and I kick him out of the glow. "RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!" I shout. He panics and uses "Soru" to run up the stairs.

Twilight turns me toward her and she presses her wand to my throat. "I'm not going to yell at you, Arthur. Just tell me why you were in jail," Twilight calmly says with a flat tone. Oh, fuck! I recognize that tone of voice! I've pissed her off and she's going to snap on me! "Tell. Me. Why. You. Were. In. Jail!" She shouts.

"Twilight put him down. He and Spike were arrested for dancing and singing in the fountain in the middle of the Mall," Shining Armor says. Bitch, you're the asshole who got me into this situation! The woman with pink hair is standing in the background holding a laugh while Velvet and Night Light look on interested in whats happening.

Twilight turns her attention to Shining Armor and I use that moment to make my escape. "Geppo" I hop out of the field and I walk up to Twilight and wrap my arms around her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to freak out." This seems to placate her a bit and she places her wand into her skirt pocket before wrapping her arms around my body.

"I guess it wasn't too bad. I know you've been in jail for way worse," Twilight says. The room is completely silent as what she just said is registering to everyone. Shining Armor quirks his eyebrow at me and slowly reaches for his wand. Velvet and Night Light are trying to hold back smiles while the woman with pink hair has started laughing loudly.

"Did you really just say that out loud?" I ask. I feel her slight nod as I let go of her.

When I let go of her she grabs me tightly and pulls me closer to her. "If I hold you, my brother can't attack you." I look over at her brother as he fully registers what she meant.

"What do you mean by "He's been in jail for way worse"!? Are you dating a criminal!?" Shining Armor shouts. Pretty much, yeah. I mean I have the memories and skills of a Pirate, A Man with a God Complex that evaporated an Island, A Governmental Assassin, and Myself. So I'm like 2/4 criminal.

Twilight lets go of me and quickly turns to her brother, angry at his accusation. "How dare you call him that! If anything he's a hero! He's saved people from fates worse than death and risked his life for his friends and you call him a criminal! I-" I quickly grab her by her shoulders and start massaging her. She weakly tries to keep yelling at her brother, "You're a jerk. Oh~ right there." I keep massaging her shoulders till I think she's calm enough.

"Yes, I've been in jail. No, I'm not going to tell you what I was in for. Just know that I love your sister and I would do anything for her," I say. I walk up to him and stick out my hand. "I'm Arthur Mayhew, First-Mate of the Straw-Hat Pirates. A pleasure to meet you."

He looks at me stunned for a while before slowly grabbing my hand. Instead of shaking my hand he tries to flip me over his shoulder. I just stand there and watch as he pulls my arm and tries his damnedest to flip me. "You really wanna do this right now?" I look over at his parents and say, "I'm so sorry about this."

"Don't be sorry. Shining Armor has always been overprotective of his little sister. It's one of the traits I fell in love with," The woman with the pink hair and wings says. I twist my body awkwardly and stick my hand out to her. "I'm Cadence, it's nice to meet you, Arthur."

"Cadence, stop being nice to the pirate and help me!" Shining grunts. He readjusts his grip and grabs my shirt by the collar and he keeps trying to throw me to the ground. It's getting kind of awkward having another man thrust his hips against mine like this.

"No thank you, I'm enjoying the view," She sweetly replies. And now it's weird. "You'll have to tell me about your adventures some time."

I look at Twilight as she tries not to laugh. "You can tell your parents and her about my past if you'd like. I'm gonna whip your brother's ass real quick."

Her face suddenly becomes as hard as stone as she looks me dead in the eye. "You're going to do no such thing, understand?" She says in the same monotonous tone from before.

I quickly nod and then gesture to her brother. "What should I do about this then?" I ask.

"Just let him tire himself out. He'll give up eventually... Maybe." Cadence says. "Why don't you tell us about his adventures in the meantime Twilight?" Her parents come out from the kitchen and sit down on the nearby sofa. Cadence follows soon after and they all sit in the living room chatting while her brother keeps trying to throw me.

"Can you get me something to drink?" I ask. Twilight just ignores me as her brother stretches out my shirt. "Hey, you're going to pay for that shirt asshole." Once more I'm ignored. "Coming here was a mistake," I whisper under my breath. After a few minutes, I get tired of being grappled. I grab him around his waist and lift Shining Armor over to the sofa, setting him down mid-story. "Where are you at?"

"I've just gotten to the part where you fought against Hachi," Twilight says. For the rest of the story, I hold Shining Armor down against the sofa. As we get further and further into the story he seems to relax and he even asks questions.

"Can you really use a sword like that?" I nod and he takes a thinking pose. "Have you ever thought of teaching soldiers? Your knowledge would really help our ranks."

"I'd have to move away from Twilight, so no. I haven't thought of teaching soldier. I'm teaching Spike how to use Rokushiki though. I taught myself how to use the Six Powers about 2 years ago. I still don't know why I have Eneru's Ability to use lightning though," I lie.

Twilight starts thinking about why I might be able to use Eneru's ability and she finally says, "Maybe you ate a fruit that gave you the same power he had when you were sent here?" I shrug and yawn. Twilight yawns soon after and she grabs my hand. "Arthur and I are going to go to bed. Good night everyone." They all say goodnight as Twilight leads me to her room. "You'll be sleeping in my old room with me. Just don't get any ideas okay? My parents sleep in the room right next to us and I'd rather not have them complaining to me tomorrow morning." I nod as I take off my clothing. We both crawl into bed together and cuddle. "Goodnight, Arthur."

"Night, Twilight." She uses her wand to shut off all of the lights and then she places it on the bedstand on her side. "We should sleep together more often." She chuckles weakly and she dozes off to sleep. I pull her against my chest and wrap my arms around her. I follow her example soon after.

Author's Note

I've been busy with work so I haven't been able to update shit, sorry about that.